Lend Lease Tanks

Armament: 40mm main gun and 1 x 7.92mm mg mounted in turret.

Weight: 16 tons.

Armour: 65mm.

Speed: 15mph (24kph) on road, 8mp (12kp) cross country.

Range: 90 miles, 145km.

Crew: 3 commander, driver and gunner.

The British Vickers MkIII Valentine was introduced in May 1938 and production continued until 1944 in order to satisfy Russian requirements. The Russian's received 3487 Valentine's as part of the lend lease programme. The simple and robust design of the made it popular amongst its Russian crews. However its 40mm main gun performed poorly against German armour. The small turret could only accommodate two crewmembers, leaving the commander to double up as the loader, which in turn reduced the vehicles combat effectiveness. Some vehicles had their main gun replaced with a 76.2mm gun. The vehicles narrow tracks also caused problems in the poor Russian ground conditions, especially in deep snow, which caused them to clog. Various improvements were made from the Mk IV onwards. The main armament was increased to 57mm, the vehicle was fitted with a more powerful diesel engine and the welded superstructure was replaced by a riveted one to speed production. The final version, the Mk VI, was fitted with a 75mm main gun.

Armament: 40mm main gun and 1 x 7.92mm mg mounted in turret.

Weight: 26.5 tons.

Armour: 78mm.

Speed: 8mph (12kph) on road, 4mph (6kph) cross country.

Range: 160 miles, 257km.

Crew: 3 commander, driver, loader/radio operator and gunner.

The British Matilda Mk II was adapted from the original Mk I vehicle and was introduced in April 1937. The Russian's received 832 of the vehicles as part of the lend lease programme. Although the vehicle was reasonably well armored, it again suffered from being poorly armed. When attempts were made to fit a larger gun, the turret ring was found to be too small to accommodate anything larger. Efforts were made to improve the vehicles cross-country performance by welding sections of steel bar to the tracks to increase traction.

Armament: 57mm main gun and 2 x 7.92mm mg mounted in turret and hull.

Weight: 39 tons.

Armour: 101mm.

Speed: 15mph (22kph) on road, 8mph (12kph) cross country.

Range: 90 miles, 145km.

Crew: 5 Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver/hull gunner.

The Churchill Mk I was introduced in June 1941 and 258 were delivered to Russia as part of the lend lease programme. It had obsolete design: to increase room for the tank crew, the designers of the "Vauxhall Motors" corporation have mounted some elements of transmission under the hull so the track was bent around it, as a tanks of the World War One. The tank had a 12-cylinder petrol engine of 350 h.p. that provided it with 27 km/h speed. First models (Churchill I and Churchill II) were armed with 40 mm gun - too weak for a heavy tank. Further tanks were armed with either 76 mm gun or 57 mm gun. The tank had 152 mm frontal armour.
Tank's transmission was quite reliable, however tank had two major disadvantages: first, the tracks were too vulnerable from shells and shell's fragments because they were too high. And second - the track often jammed the tank's turret. However, 5400 vehicles (all models) have been built and in British Army this tank served to 1952.
Western Allies delivered to the Soviet Union 301 of both Churchill Mk.III and Mk.IV. These two models were very similar and distinguished only a minimal changes- some changes in turret design.

Armament: 37mm M5 gun and 2 x 0.3in mg mounted in the turret and hull.

Weight: 12 tons.

Armour: 51mm.

Speed: 36mph (58kph)on road, 20mp (30kph) cross country.

Range: 70 miles, 113km.

Crew: 4 Commander, gunner, driver, co-driver.

The M3 "General Stuart" light tank was one of the first American tanks delivered to Russia as part of the Lend Lease programme. Introduced in March 1941, it was a highly manoeuvrable vehicle and had a good top speed. Unfortunately it was armed with an ineffective 37mm gun. An attempt to fit a larger gun failed because the turret was too small. Also its engine was too sensitive to poor quality petrol that was sometimes used. The Russian's received 1233 of the vehicles as part of the lend lease programme.

M3 General Lee

Armament: 1 x 75mm M2 and 1 x 37mm M5 guns and 3 x 0.3in mg mounted in the turret, cupola and bow.

Weight: 29.5 tons.

Armour: 37mm.

Speed: 26mph (42kph) on road, 16mph (24kph) cross country.

Range: 120 miles, 193km.

Crew: 6. commander, driver, 2 x gunners, 2 x loaders.

The M3 "Lee" was not popular with its Russian crews. Despite this the Russian's received 1200 of the vehicles as part of the lend lease programme. Its large silhouette made it an easy target for German gunners and its cross-country performance was poor. The harsh Russian environment also caused problems with the vehicles engine. However its most important drawback was its rubber-metal tracks, which frequently collapsed immobilising the vehicle. Its Russian crews soon nicknamed it the 'Grave for six brothers'. Also due to the way the gun was mounted, its limited traverse meant the vehicle often had to be turned partially towards it target.

Armament: 75mm main gun and 2 x 7.62mm and 1 x 12.7mm mg.

Weight: 32.5 tons.

Armour: 75mm.

Speed: 26mph (42kph).

Range: 120 miles, 193km.

Crew: 5. Commander, driver, loader, radio operator and gunner.

The M4 Sherman was introduced to Russian units in 1942. The Russian crews did not like the Sherman due to its high silhouette and thin armour. The M4A1 with its petrol engine was prone to burning when hit. The M4A2 was fitted with a diesel engine and a wet stowage system to protect the ammunition storage. Later vehicles in the series were fitted with a 76mm gun. In total 3600 Sherman's were sent to Russia as part of the lend lease agreement.